December 12, 2015 1 2981
Dayo Oketola, Chukwudi Akasike and Gbenro Adeoye

Some groups have called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other anti-graft agencies to pick up former President Goodluck Jonathan for questioning over the $2bn arms deal scandal.

This is coming after the arrest of some persons allegedly involved in the misappropriation of the funds meant for the purchase of arms to strengthen military might in the fight against insurgency.

Former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), former Sokoto State governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, and Chairman of Daar Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, and others have already been arrested in connection with the alleged crime.

The EFCC had also filed various charges bordering on fraud and money laundering against the suspects.

The groups, therefore, argued that Jonathan should also be held accountable for alleged crimes of the suspects as the President of the country at the time.

The Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen said there were many questions begging for answer which Jonathan and the immediate past Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, should give answers to.

Its Convener, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, also questioned the allocation of public funds to the office of the NSA, which he described as only playing an advisory role and lacking in operational powers.

He described spending of the said public funds without due approval by the National Assembly as a “criminal offence.”

He said,[b] “It is a major international scandal, national disgrace and embarrassment. Given the fact that Jonathan was the one in charge, whether effectively or not is beside the point, if he is found to have been complicit in the bastardising of our national treasury, he should be called in to answer questions, whether the EFCC goes to him or he is physically called in to the agency’s office.

“They should go to him wherever he is, whether in this country or outside. He should be questioned. If the need arises for him to be questioned again and again and again, the EFCC should not hesitate to do so. I believe Nigerians are angry that so far, he has not answered any question.

“The last time he commented on it, he was in the United States, and he said the money was too much. If he has his own figures, he should give out the figures he has to the EFCC, the Department of Security Services and those investigating the case. If he doesn’t show contrary figures, he has no business disputing the ones available.

“The fact that the office was bastardised by this Dasuki fellow and other people to be awarding contracts and financing the campaign systems of the Peoples Democratic Party shows that there was something fundamentally amiss. And we now have to dig to the very bottom and we cannot get to the bottom without questioning Jonathan.

“Also, under our system and this is in the constitution, money which has not been appropriated cannot be spent. It is a fundamental principle of financial management in a democratic government. But the money Dasuki and others spent was not appropriated by the National Assembly.”[/b]

Coordinator, Federation of Middle Belt People, Mr. Manasseh Watyil, said Jonathan as the Chief Executive Officer of the country at the time should be held responsible for the alleged atrocities that went on in his government.

He also accused the former president of spending without due appropriation by the National Assembly.

He said, “As far as the middle belt is concerned, Jonathan had his lapses. I believe that the money was given to Dasuki out of the security vote. So Jonathan should be questioned. He needs to be questioned because there was no check and balance in his tenure.

“He allowed his officials to do whatever they felt like doing and that is why they ran into this problem. The National Assembly was supposed to know about it if there would be any procurement of arms or weapons and the lawmakers should have approved it before the disbursement of the funds.

“We need to know the source of the money. Where did the money come from? The former President is supposed to be held responsible because he was the Chief Executive Officer of the country. So for any mismanagement, he should be held accountable.”

National Publicity Secretary, Arewa Consultative Forum, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim, who accused Jonathan of giving undue power to the former NSA, said that grilling the former President over the issue would teach his successors a lesson.

He said, “I think it is very necessary (to question Jonathan) so that it will be a lesson for other presidents that they should not leave everything to their special advisers.

“If it is found that the President has some questions to answer, there is nothing bad in it. It is being done all over the world. And as a president, you must take responsibility for actions taken during your regime. The former President was informed because he had people who gave him candid opinions about what was going on, but he pretended that nothing was going on then. He thought that every criticism was sponsored by the opposition.”

Mohammed, however, urged the Federal Government and anti-graft agencies “not to allow politics to influence the investigation.”

In addition, the Afenifere Renewal Group, a Yoruba socio-political group, described the scandal as an “offence tantamount to genocide, treason, war crime and crime against humanity.”

Its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo, said that Jonathan should be made to give account to Nigerians of how the funds meant for purchasing ammunition were allegedly diverted to other uses.

Famoriyo said the alleged greed of those involved in the scandal caused the death of thousands of Nigerians, including soldiers and would have also caused the execution of some hundreds of other soldiers who were tried for mutiny.

He said, “It is an abuse of power by whoever was in charge. There is no way that Jonathan will not be affected because what we have now is insensitivity by a government that was in power.

“It was an abuse of power for them to be spending public funds that way to the degree that one person (Dasuki), was given such huge amounts of money when he was not a government ministry. Jonathan must come to give account to Nigerians about how he managed the funds of the country because many Nigerians were killed by Boko Haram.

“It is tantamount to genocide, crime against humanity and treason because Nigerians were killed satanically in their thousands.”

[b]In the same vein, the Chairman, Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition, Mr. Anyakwe Nsirimovu, said that since Jonathan was the President when the arms deal scandal occurred, it was imperative for him to give account to Nigerians.

Nsirimovu said the issue of whether to arrest the former President to give account for the money released for the arms deal or not should not be viewed with ethnic sentiments.

He added that since Nigeria was a democratic country, where the rule of law should remain supreme; there was nothing wrong with the arrest or invitation of a former President for questioning.

He said, “I don’t want us to look at the issue from an ethnic or zonal angle. We should approach it from the rule of law, which is supreme. The essence of democracy as opposed to tyranny is that those who take the mantle of leadership should be accountable to the people.

“Under a democracy, if you infringe upon the law, you are expected to explain yourself. So, as long as due process is concerned, if Jonathan is expected to account for what happened while he was the President, his explanation is to Nigerians and not Buhari.

“The amount of money in the arms deal matter is enormous and as of the time the incident happened, he was the President. So, Jonathan owes Nigerians some explanations.”[/b]

However, the National Coordinator, Niger Delta Youth Parliament, Chief Imoh Okoko, said it would be wrong for any person to seek the arrest of former President Jonathan over the matter.

Okoko maintained that the former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the ex-National Security Adviser should be the ones to tell Nigerians how funds meant for the purchase of arms were expended.

He said, “Jonathan should be left out of all these. He should not be arrested for the offence that others may have committed. The former NSA and the ex-minister of Finance should tell Nigerians how they managed the funds.”

In his reaction, the spokesperson for the Ijaw National Congress, Mr. Victor Borubo, described the call by some northern groups for the arrest of former President Goodluck Jonathan over the arms deal scandal as provocative and silly.

Borubo, who spoke with one of our correspondents, advised that anybody who committed a crime should be made to face the punishment, adding that nobody would succeed in tarnishing the image of the ex-President.

He said, “The attempt to bully Jonathan will not work. Nobody can tarnish his image. It is a pity that rather than face their business, they (northern groups) are chasing shadows by trying to destroy the character of a good man.

“The call by some of the northern groups is provocative and very silly. If any person is said to have committed any crime, that persons should be arrested. If crimes are committed under (President Mohammadu) Buhari, would anybody say Buhari should be arrested?”

However, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Gary Enwo-Igariwe, said he would not be able to react immediately to the matter as he was just coming from South Africa and had no full detail of the call to question the ex-President.

http://www.punchng.com/northern-groups-to-efcc-dss-quiz-jonathan-on-2bn-arms-deal/

Jonathan is just being respected because he is a Former President. But am sure we haven't heard the last on this scandal.

I know it will come to this, watching with two eyes open

Gej is not scared of probe but will welcome a probe from Obj tenure.




We should also probe PMB PTF tenure since its a season of probe

they should start the probe from buhari, ibb, abdusalami to jonathan.

The northern elders should go and arrest him, abi what are they waiting for? I.diots!!

Tunami:
they should start the probe from buhari, ibb, abdusalami to jonathan.

Jonathan not probing them has vindicated them!

Why is Jonathan suddenly deaf and dumb?Since he denied Dasuki in America,one would have expected him to try set the record straight by now.

I never fell for that"my ambition does no worth the blood of Nigerians"nonsense,I knew it was all ruse.

The blood of those innocent lives that was lost due to his ineptness,cluelessness and tardiness will always hunt him day and night.

No wonder they wanted to force him down our throats the second time at all cost and by all means.